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Total Economic Impact
Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By Commissioning Custom Thought Leadership Content With Forrester
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY FORRESTER, January 2026
Total Economic Impact
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY FORRESTER, January 2026
Not all thought leadership is created equal. Three in four business and technology leaders say they are more likely to trust thought leadership when it’s backed by objective data and authored by a third party.1 Marketers must carefully consider how and with whom they produce their content programs to maximize lead generation and business growth. Forrester’s custom thought leadership studies provide an objective analysis of industry trends, challenges, and opportunities that educate the market and guide buying decision-makers. Marketers activating Forrester’s custom thought leadership content may recognize greater profit from lead generation while avoiding content development costs.
Buying decision-makers anchor many campaigns in long-form content like white papers and analyst reports to guide decision-making in each stage of the buying journey; they use short-form content like blogs and brief videos to extend this reach to additional audiences and channels.2 In an age of proliferating AI, buyers need reliable, AI-discoverable content more than ever to inform their decision-making.
This is where Forrester can help. Forrester’s custom thought leadership content program is a proven content pathway that highlights emerging trends, shifting markets, and how best-in-class organizations adapt to stay ahead. Our independent analysis engages prospects and enables organizations to align their product, strategy, sales, and marketing functions with quantitative and qualitative data taken directly from their customers.3
Forrester Consulting conducted a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study — which analyzes the economic benefits, costs, risks, and flexibility of a chosen course of action — to examine the potential return on investment enterprises may realize from a Forrester custom thought leadership content program.4 To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed seven decision-makers with experience of commissioning custom thought leadership content from Forrester. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the experiences of the interviewees and combined the results into a single composite organization, which is a global business-to-business (B2B) technology organization with revenue of $500 million per year.
Before partnering with Forrester for a custom thought leadership study, interviewees relied on in-house teams or other vendors to produce marketing content. They told Forrester that in-house efforts were time-consuming and resource-intensive. Moreover, because the companies themselves created the content, potential buyers were skeptical of the results. The interviewees’ option was to contract with vendors; however, 54% of global decision-makers feel the content they receive from vendors is biased or unbalanced.5 These limitations led to frustration from marketers: Even though they had proof of their products’ abilities to solve prospects’ problems, customers remained unconvinced. As a result, they were often unable to show the impact of marketing efforts on the company’s bottom line.
With a Forrester custom thought leadership study, interviewees’ organizations were able to generate higher volumes of better-quality content. As one interviewee noted, “Partnering with Forrester brings value and credibility … and it takes less time than working with other vendors or in-house.” Across the interviewees’ organizations, the Forrester content and its derivatives generate more leads that convert at a higher rate than previous efforts, resulting in additional profit. Marketing staff previously tasked with roadmapping and developing custom content saved time by offloading some of these responsibilities to Forrester; they also made additional productivity savings by leveraging the Forrester content for derivatives — such as webinars, datasheets, and roadshows — throughout the campaign.
Quantified benefits. The 18-month, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:
Generating $825,000 to $1.3 million in attributable qualified pipeline growth per campaign. By activating a custom thought leadership study, the composite organization realizes net new sales pipeline growth from qualified sales opportunities attributed to its Forrester custom thought leadership study. Among the interviewed customers, Forrester’s custom thought leadership content programs drove between $500,000 and $7.4 million in pipeline opportunity growth (from 15 to 20 net new qualified sales opportunities) by educating the market and engaging with prospects.
Increasing leads by 40% and conversion rates by 80% from Forrester’s derivative content based on its custom thought leadership program. Interviewees noted that derivative campaign assets, such as webinars, infographics, and executive roundtables, that were based on Forrester’s custom thought leadership content generate more leads that close at a higher rate than non-Forrester thought leadership assets. The composite organization generates additional leads, revenue, and profit from derivative assets based on Forrester’s thought leadership content — both Forrester-produced and internally produced assets.
Reducing the time and cost of developing content marketing by 834 employee hours and $136,000. By working with Forrester on commissioned thought leadership content, the composite organization’s employees responsible for content roadmapping, planning, delivery, and activation avoid most of this labor. The composite organization’s five full-time employees dedicated to content development save significant time and cost on content development and activation-related activities by commissioning content from Forrester.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:
Elevated brand awareness across the customer lifecycle. Interviewees said that they were able to utilize the thought leadership study as content for various audiences — from prospects to existing customers to media influencers. Having a Forrester thought leadership study improved the brand awareness of interviewees’ organizations and gave them greater reach across the customer landscape.
The supply of primary research and voice-of-the-customer data and feedback. Interviewees said that having insights and access to the data from the custom thought leadership study was a key benefit of working with Forrester. Many of the interviewees leveraged the data from the study in marketing campaigns, for derivative assets, and internally.
Costs. The 18-month, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:
Forrester thought leadership program fees. These comprise the content development cost for a Forrester thought leadership study as well as a derivative webinar. Readers should keep in mind that custom thought leadership content costs can vary based upon content needs, scope, and additional derivatives.
Internal labor costs. This cost includes the internal time and effort the composite organization needs to participate in research design, provide feedback on the study, and generally manage the thought leadership project and interact with Forrester during the creation process.
Ongoing labor costs. This cost includes the internal time and effort the composite organization needs to leverage the survey data, develop internal derivative content, and generally support the thought leadership program.
The customer interviews and financial analysis found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $452,000 over 18 months versus costs of $222,000, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $230,000 and an ROI of 104%.
Net additional pipeline growth per Forrester custom thought leadership campaign
Return on investment (ROI)
Benefits PV
Net present value (NPV)
Payback
| Interviewee title | Industry | Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Global integrated marketing lead | Cloud computing | $100B+ |
| Head of editorial content | Cloud computing | $100B+ |
| Director, global partner marketing | Cloud computing | $100B+ |
| Senior director of editorial and content | Cybersecurity | $1B |
| Integrated marketing manager | Enterprise software | $1B |
| Senior marketing manager | Enterprise software | $500M |
| Senior manager, integrated campaigns | Software as a service (SaaS) | $100M |
Interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges, including:
Needing unbiased, independent content to educate the market and drive brand awareness. Interviewees noted that their prospects were often skeptical of content created in-house. They agreed that their audiences needed to trust content intended to educate the market and drive awareness.
Hitting capacity constraints for marketing employees. Interviewees explained that dedicating marketing resources to developing thought leadership content was never easy given staffing levels. Even if they were fully staffed, it could be inefficient, as internal resources didn’t necessarily have the tools at their disposal to effectively survey their intended audiences.
Adhering to content development timelines. Interviewees described how their organizations often struggled to complete their content development on a standard timeline as a result of competing priorities and internal disruption that frequently took projects off-track.
The interviewees’ organizations highlighted some of the criteria they used when deciding to invest in a Forrester thought leadership study:
The ability to create additional assets with the data is key. The head of editorial content at a software organization based in EMEA shared, “With our current project, I have three external assets that we are planning on publishing.”
The director, global partner marketing at a cloud computing organization based in North America spoke about research quality: “[We scoped] 800 customers globally. The ability to have that reach and work with a Forrester analyst on the questions we were interested in was a huge selling point.”
Ease of use was important in the decision-making process. The director, global partner marketing at a cloud computing organization based in North America said, “[The Forrester] team owns it from start to finish, which has value from a time management standpoint.” The head of editorial content at a software organization based in EMEA added: “It’s a much smoother process with Forrester. I knew immediately that I wanted to work with Forrester on my second project.”
Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of those of the seven decision-makers Forrester interviewed and is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:
Description of composite. The composite organization is a global B2B technology company. It has a strong brand, global operations, $500 million in annual revenue, and 1,000 employees. Each year, it deploys two major content marketing campaigns to generate brand awareness and qualified leads to grow the sales pipeline.
Deployment characteristics. While the composite organization has a larger marketing team, it dedicates five marketers to content roadmapping and development projects; in turn, they act as the project managers and have weekly check-ins with the Forrester Consulting team. After receiving the final asset, these marketers will orchestrate the campaign around the asset and create derivative content based on the content — such as blogs, email campaigns, and social media tiles — to ensure lead generation continues while the asset remains in the market for more than 18 months.
$500 million revenue
1,000 employees
Two content marketing campaigns per year
Five marketers dedicated to content development and content marketing campaigns
| Ref. | Benefit | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Additional profit from sales opportunities attributable to the Forrester thought leadership asset | $37,125 | $29,700 | $22,275 | $89,100 | $75,031 |
| Btr | Additional profit from derivative content based on the Forrester thought leadership asset | $120,285 | $90,214 | $75,178 | $285,677 | $240,389 |
| Ctr | Avoided content development costs | $54,720 | $54,720 | $54,720 | $164,160 | $136,081 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | $212,130 | $174,634 | $152,173 | $538,937 | $451,501 |
Evidence and data. The interviewees attributed net new pipeline growth from qualified sales opportunities to their Forrester custom thought leadership program; this was higher than the pipeline growth that was typical of previous content marketing-based campaigns. Among the interviewed customers, the main Forrester thought leadership asset drove between $500,000 and $7.4 million in qualified pipeline opportunity growth.
Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester makes the following assumptions:
It launches one marketing campaign based on the custom Forrester thought leadership study every six months.
It generates between 25 and 15 net new sales-qualified opportunities per campaign, with diminishing returns from the first campaign to the final campaign.
It has an average opportunity size of $55,000.
It has an average conversion rate of 20% on sales-qualified opportunities, resulting in attributable revenue generation between $275,000 and $165,000 per campaign.
It has a 15% operating margin, as Forrester measures this benefit in terms of profit (as opposed to revenue).
Risks. This benefit will vary among organizations based on:
An organization’s average deal size and conversion rate, as related to pipeline growth.
The sophistication of an organization’s marketing employees in terms of their ability to orchestrate successful campaigns (with the Forrester thought leadership content as the centerpiece).
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding an 18-month, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $75,000.
Attributable qualified pipeline growth per campaign
| Ref. | Metric | Source | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Marketing campaigns related to the Forrester thought leadership asset | Composite | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| A2 | Net new sales-qualified opportunities attributable to the Forrester thought leadership asset | Interviews | 25 | 20 | 15 | |
| A3 | Average opportunity size | Composite | $55,000 | $55,000 | $55,000 | |
| A4 | Subtotal: Influenced qualified opportunity dollars with the Forrester thought leadership asset | A1*A2*A3 | $1,375,000 | $1,100,000 | $825,000 | |
| A5 | Average conversion rate for qualified opportunities | Composite | 20% | 20% | 20% | |
| A6 | Subtotal: Additional revenue generation from the campaign based on the Forrester thought leadership asset | A4*A5 | $275,000 | $220,000 | $165,000 | |
| A7 | Operating margin | Composite | 15% | 15% | 15% | |
| At | Additional profit from sales opportunities attributable to the Forrester thought leadership asset | A6*A7 | $41,250 | $33,000 | $24,750 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Atr | Additional profit from sales opportunities attributable to the Forrester thought leadership asset (risk-adjusted) | $37,125 | $29,700 | $22,275 | ||
| 18-month total: $89,100 | 18-month present value: $75,031 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees noted that derivative campaign assets based on Forrester custom thought leadership content — such as webinars, infographics, and executive roundtables — generate more leads that close at a higher rate than non-Forrester thought leadership assets. In many cases, they said that these derivatives offered organizations a “long tail” of value for their Forrester thought leadership content, allowing them to generate as many or more leads from their derivative content over time as they do from their core Forrester thought leadership report. This represented a significant portion of the program’s value. Given this, it should be noted that both benefit A and benefit B in this analysis is attributable to the Forrester custom thought leadership program.
Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester makes the following assumptions:
The composite organization generates additional leads, revenue, and profit from derivatives based on Forrester’s thought leadership, both Forrester-produced and internally produced assets.
Three derivative assets/events, such as webinars, roadshows, and infographics, are created around the Forrester thought leadership content every six months.
Each derivative asset generates an average of 250 marketing-qualified leads (MQLs).
Based on the interviews, derivative content based on Forrester custom thought leadership content results in 40% to 25% more leads per asset (diminishing from the first campaign to the final campaign).
Leads generated from derivatives based on Forrester thought leadership content convert at 5.4%, a rate that is 80% higher than for non-Forrester thought leadership content.
The average opportunity size is $55,000.
It has an operating margin of 15%, as Forrester measures this benefit in terms profit (as opposed to revenue).
Risks. This benefit will vary among organizations based on:
The typical number of derivatives in an organization’s marketing campaign.
The baseline level of customer engagement with an organization’s derivatives as related to average lead generation.
An organization’s average deal size and average conversion rate.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding an 18-month, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $240,000.
Incremental profit from derivative content
| Ref. | Metric | Source | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Derivatives created from the main Forrester thought leadership asset (e.g. webinars, infographics, roundtable events, etc.) | Interviews/ composite | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| B2 | Average marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) per derivative | Composite | 250 | 250 | 250 | |
| B3 | Increase in leads with Forrester thought leadership campaign content | Interviews | 40% | 30% | 25% | |
| B4 | Subtotal: Additional qualified leads per derivative asset | B2*B3 | 100 | 75 | 63 | |
| B5 | Average conversion rate | Composite | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
| B6 | Conversion rate improvement with Forrester thought leadership-based derivative asset | Interviews | 80% | 80% | 80% | |
| B7 | Subtotal: Conversion rate with Forrester thought-leadership-based derivatives | B5+(B5*B6) | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.4% | |
| B8 | Subtotal: Additional conversions with Forrester thought-leadership-based derivatives | B1*B4*B7 | 16 | 12 | 10 | |
| B9 | Average deal size | Composite | $55,000 | $55,000 | $55,000 | |
| B10 | Subtotal: Additional revenue from Forrester thought leadership campaign derivatives | B8*B9 | $891,000 | $668,250 | $556,875 | |
| B11 | Operating margin | Composite | 15% | 15% | 15% | |
| Bt | Additional profit from derivative content based on the Forrester thought leadership asset | B10*B11 | $133,650 | $100,238 | $83,531 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Btr | Additional profit from derivative content based on the Forrester thought leadership asset (risk-adjusted) | $120,285 | $90,214 | $75,178 | ||
| 18-month total: $285,677 | 18-month present value: $240,389 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees noted that their organizations need to dedicate internal marketing resources to content roadmapping and development, including thought leadership content. By working with Forrester on custom thought leadership content, the composite organization’s employees who were responsible for content roadmapping, planning, delivery, and activation avoid most of this labor.
Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester assumes the following:
Two senior marketing full-time employees (FTEs) spend 40 hours every six months roadmapping content for their organizations; they avoid 30% of this effort by commissioning thought leadership content from Forrester.
The average fully burdened hourly rate for a senior marketing FTE is $80.
Three marketing FTEs spend 600 hours on content development annually; they avoid 90% of this effort by commissioning thought leadership content from Forrester.
The average fully burdened hourly rate for a marketing employee is $48.
Risks. This benefit will vary among organizations based on:
An organization’s content strategy, as it relates to the content roadmap and content requirements.
The number of marketers required to create content for an organization.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding an 18-month, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $136,000.
Saved on content roadmapping and development
| Ref. | Metric | Source | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | FTEs involved in roadmapping core marketing content every six months | Composite | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| C2 | Hours required to roadmap content marketing assets every six months | Composite | 40 | 40 | 40 | |
| C3 | Time savings due to collaborating with Forrester | Interviews | 30% | 30% | 30% | |
| C4 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a senior marketer | Composite | $80 | $80 | $80 | |
| C5 | Subtotal: Content creation roadmapping savings due to Forrester engagement | C1*C2*C3*C4 | $1,920 | $1,920 | $1,920 | |
| C6 | Marketing FTEs dedicated to developing marketing content and derivatives | Composite | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| C7 | Hours dedicated to developing marketing content every six months | Composite | 300 | 300 | 300 | |
| C8 | Percentage of hours saved with Forrester engagement | Interviews | 90% | 90% | 90% | |
| C9 | Fully burdened hourly rate for a content marketer | Composite | $48 | $48 | $48 | |
| C10 | Subtotal: Marketing team efficiency gains | C6*C7*C8*C9 | $38,880 | $38,880 | $38,880 | |
| C11 | Average third-party agency fees avoided | Interviews | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
| Ct | Avoided content development costs | C5+C10+C11 | $60,800 | $60,800 | $60,800 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Ctr | Avoided content development costs (risk-adjusted) | $54,720 | $54,720 | $54,720 | ||
| 18-month total: $164,160 | 18-month present value: $136,081 | |||||
Additional benefits that the interviewees experienced but were not able to quantify include:
Elevated brand awareness across the customer lifecycle. Interviewees said that they were able to utilize the Forrester thought leadership study as content for various audiences— from prospects to existing customers to media influencers. Having a Forrester thought leadership study improved the brand awareness of interviewees’ organizations and gave them greater reach across the customer landscape.
The supply of primary research and voice-of-the-customer data and feedback. Interviewees noted that access to the data from the custom thought leadership study was a key benefit of working with Forrester. Many of the interviewees leveraged the data from the study in marketing campaigns, for derivative assets, and internally across various initiatives.
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might commission Forrester custom thought leadership content and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
The ongoing use of custom data from the Forrester thought leadership program. Interviewees explained the potential to use the data from their custom Forrester thought leadership program beyond the main content campaign (and derivative content). This provided a long tail of value that may extend beyond the period of this TEI analysis.
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Appendix A).
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dtr | Forrester custom thought leadership program fees | $210,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $210,000 | $210,000 |
| Etr | Internal labor costs supporting Forrester thought leadership asset development | $3,519 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $3,519 | $3,519 |
| Ftr | Ongoing labor costs supporting Forrester thought leadership derivative content | $0 | $3,312 | $3,312 | $3,312 | $9,936 | $8,236 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | $213,519 | $3,312 | $3,312 | $3,312 | $223,455 | $221,755 |
Evidence and data. The composite organization’s fees for its Forrester custom thought leadership program include the content development cost for a Forrester thought leadership paper and a cohosted webinar.
The cost of a Forrester custom thought leadership program can vary based on several factors. To discuss specific scope and pricing, please contact Forrester.
Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester assumes:
The composite spends $200,000 on its Forrester thought leadership program based on the scope and specifics of the thought leadership paper and webinar.
These costs are estimated for the composite organization based on 2025 pricing. Please contact Forrester for current pricing and scoping specifics.
Risks. This cost will vary among organizations based on:
The scope and complexity of a Forrester thought leadership program for an organization, given factors like survey complexity, which may affect pricing.
The number of Forrester-produced assets included with the program.
Results. To account for these variances, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding an 18-month, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $210,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Cost of Forrester custom thought leadership program | $200,000 | ||||
| Dt | Forrester custom thought leadership program fees | $200,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | |||||
| Dtr | Forrester custom thought leadership program fees (risk-adjusted) | $210,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| 18-month total: $210,000 | 18-month present value: $210,000 | |||||
Evidence and data. While Forrester’s consulting team does the majority of the work on custom thought leadership content, the interviewees noted that the project still required internal labor from their respective marketing teams to support the engagement.
Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester makes the following assumptions:
Stakeholders spend 51 collective hours across the 20 weeks of the project on activities like scoping, participating in check-in meetings, and reviewing and finalizing the assets.
The average fully burdened hourly rate of a marketing FTE is $60.
Risks. This cost will vary among organizations based on:
The number of marketing FTEs scoping and participating with Forrester on the thought leadership program.
The complexity of an organization’s Forrester thought leadership program as it relates to any required participation like check-ins or reviews over the course of the project.
Results. To account for these variances, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 15%, yielding an 18-month, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $4,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Total hours spent scoping Forrester custom thought leadership program | Composite | 15 | |||
| E2 | Hours spent on weekly tasks | 1 hour/week | 20 | |||
| E3 | Hours spent on reviewing and finalizing thought leadership content with Forrester | Composite | 16 | |||
| E4 | Fully burdened hourly rate of a marketing team member | Composite | $60 | |||
| Et | Internal labor costs supporting Forrester thought leadership asset development | (E1+E2+E3) *E4 |
$3,060 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑15% | |||||
| Etr | Internal labor costs supporting Forrester thought leadership asset development (risk-adjusted) | $3,519 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| 18-month total: $3,519 | 18-month present value: $3,519 | |||||
Evidence and data. While the Forrester consulting team can create derivative content like infographics and webinars as part of a custom thought leadership program, the interviewees told us that, in many cases, their organizations also created their own derivative marketing campaign content from their thought leadership content and survey data. The composite organization dedicates additional labor to creating and executing additional derivative content based on its Forrester thought leadership content.
Modeling and assumptions. For the composite organization, Forrester makes the following assumptions:
It creates three content derivatives every six months. It requires an average of 16 hours of marketing FTE time to plan and execute each asset.
The average fully burdened hourly rate of a marketing FTE is $60.
Risks. This cost will vary among organizations based on:
The typical number of derivatives in an organization’s marketing campaign.
The skill and capacity of an organization’s marketing employees in terms of the time required to plan and execute on campaign derivatives.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 15%, yielding an 18-month, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $8,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Derivatives created every six months | Composite | 3 | 3 | 3 | |
| F2 | Internal FTE hours required to produce one piece of derivative content (average) | Composite | 16 | 16 | 16 | |
| F3 | Fully burdened hourly rate of a marketing team member | E4 | $60 | $60 | $60 | |
| Ft | Ongoing labor costs supporting Forrester thought leadership derivative content | F1*F2*E4 | $0 | $2,880 | $2,880 | $2,880 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑15% | |||||
| Ftr | Ongoing labor costs supporting Forrester thought leadership derivative content (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $3,312 | $3,312 | $3,312 | |
| 18-month total: $9,936 | 18-month present value: $8,236 | |||||
CONSOLIDATED 18-MONTH RISK-ADJUSTED METRICS
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
| Initial | 6 Months | 12 Months | 18 Months | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | ($213,519) | ($3,312) | ($3,312) | ($3,312) | ($223,455) | ($221,755) |
| Total benefits | $0 | $212,130 | $174,634 | $152,173 | $538,937 | $451,501 |
| Net benefits | ($213,519) | $208,818 | $171,322 | $148,861 | $315,482 | $229,746 |
| ROI | 104% | |||||
| Payback | <6 months |
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Month 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in Forrester custom thought leadership content.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that Forrester’s custom thought leadership content can have on an organization.
Interviewed Forrester stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to the TEI study.
Interviewed seven decision-makers at organizations using Forrester’s custom thought leadership content to obtain data with respect to costs, benefits, and risks.
Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.
Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PVs of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
1 Source: Forrester’s Q3 2025 Content Preferences Survey, Forrester Research, Inc.
2 Source: Forrester’s Q3 2025 Content Preferences Survey, Forrester Research, Inc.
3 Source: The Forrester Revenue Engine Strategy Compass Template, Forrester Research, Inc., August 24, 2021.
4 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
5 Source: Forrester’s Q3 2025 Content Preferences Survey, Forrester Research, Inc.
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by Forrester and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in Forrester custom thought leadership.
Richard Cavallaro
January 2026
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